BULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE SCIENCES DE LA TERRE, 69-SUPP. A: 103-118, 1999 BULLETIN VAN HIT KONINKLIJK BELGISCH INSTITUUT VOOR NATUURWETENSCHAPPEN AARDWETENSCHAPPEN. 69-SUPP. A: 103-1 IX. 19» An overview of Late Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene echinoderm faunas from Liege-Limburg (Belgium, The Netherlands) by John W. M. JAGT Abstract My3eHHHM KOJUieKIJKHM, H B OC06eHHOCTH C034aHHbIM RO 1975 roaa, He XBaraeT, B nacTHOCTH, noapoôHoft HHthopMauHH o With the exception of echinoids, echinoderm faunas from the type area CTpaTHrpatnHHecKOM npoHcxo»c;reHHH. HoBaa KOJLieKima He of the Maastrichtian Stage still are more or less terra incognita. TOJibKO SHaHHTeiiBHO \TJiy6jiHeT Hanm 3H3HH5I O tbavHax Material collected recently in the area by a group of professional and HraoK05KHX LIo3ÄHero Mena (KaMnaHCKo-MacipHXTCKHH apycbi) amateur palaeontologists comprises numerous new records, which H Parmero riarteoreHa (TJaTCKMH apyc) B aaHHOH oônactn, HO H have the added advantaue of being well documented stratigraphically. Museum collections, and those pre-dating 1975 in particular, generally no3BOjmeT nojp3ecTH HTOTH no cTpyKTvpe pa3Hoo6pa3H« H suffer from a lack of detail where slratigraphic provenance is con• BbiMHpaHH», npejiiiiecTBOBaBuieH rpamme K/T H BKpecT rparame cerned. Not only do these new collections considerably increase our K/T. Kpancoe o6o3peiöie dpavH HTJIOKOJKHX npe^cTaBaeHO B knowledge of Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) and Early aaHHOM OMepKe, ocoôoe BHHMaHHe yaeaeHO MopcKHM e*aM H Palaeogene (Danian) echinoderm faunas in the area, they also allow acTepoH/raM. conclusions on diversification and extinction patterns prior to and across the KT boundary to be drawn. In the present paper a brief overview is given of these echinoderm faunas, with emphasis on KjiioReBbie cioBa: rio3aHHH Mea, PaHrodi IlajieoreH, echinoids and asteroids. HTJIOKOaCHe, TaKCOHOMHH, CTpaTHTpatpHH, TatJ)OHOMHH. Kev words: Late Cretaceous, Early Palaeogene, echinoderms. taxon• omy, stratigraphy, taphonomy. Introduction Résumé The calcareous, multi-element echinoderm skeleton is almost predestined to become fossilised (DONOVAN, A l'exception des échinides. les faunes d'échinodermes de la région- 1991). The often gregarious occurrence of echinoderms type de l'Etage Maastrichtien sont encore plus ou moins terra inco• in many types of marine strata, and the fact that, even in gnito. Ou matériel récemment récolté dans cette région par un groupe de paléontologues professionnels et amateurs comprend de nombreuses the case of dissociated ossicles, material is readily as• et nouvelles pièces qui ont l'avantage supplémentaire d'être bien signed to family, genus or species, makes them an ideal documentées stratimaphiquement. Les collections des musées, et en subject for palaeobiological and palaeoecological studies. particulier celles antérieures à 1975, souffrent généralement du manque de précision en ce qui concerne la position stratigraphique. All species of echinoid, asteroid, ophiuroid and crinoid ( es nom elles collections non seulemenl élargissent noire connaissance from Campanian, Maastrichtian and Danian deposits in des faunes d'échinodermes du Crétacé supérieur (Campanien-Maas- southern Limburg (The Netherlands) and contiguous trichtien) et Paléogène inférieur (Danien) dans la région, mais per• mettent également de tirer des conclusions sur les modelés de diversi• areas in Belgium and Germany are currently being stu• fication et d'extinction de part et d'autre de la limite K/T. Dans cette died (Fig. 1). This is done within the framework of a K/T note, ces faunes d'échinodermes sont brièvement passées en revue en boundary diversification/ extinction project (JAGT, 1998, mettant l'accent sur les échinides et les astéries. 1999a-d; KUTSCHER & JAGT, 1999). This has resulted in Mots-clefs: Crétacé supérieur. Paléogène inférieur, échinodermes, ta• numerous new records. These include not only taxa pre• xinomie, stratigraphie, taphonomie. viously described from elsewhere in northwest Europe, but also quite a lot of new genera and species, especially amongst crinoids, asteroids and ophiuroids. PeiioMC The material consists mostly of dissociated ossicles or portions of skeletons at best (echinoids excepted), but 3a HCKJitoHeitHCM MopcKHx e»eH, (bayHbi HTJIOKO>KHX THUHHHOTO rare finds of well-preserved goniasterid and astropectinid paftoHa MacrpHXTCKoro apyca ocraioTca B ôommeft HJTH asteroids, ophiurid and ophiolepidid ophiuroids, and MeHbinefl creneHH terra incognita. HeoaBHO npe,acTaBJieran,ie bourgueticrinid crinoids are also known. To date, well tpyimoH naneoHTOJioroB, npodpeccHOHajioB H aroÖHTejieft, o6pa3Ubi 3Toro paftoHa enum o&beKTOM MHoroHHCJieHHbix HOBMX over 200 species are recorded from the area. The present Ha6aK>ÄeHHH, «onojnurrejibHbiM npemiymecTBOM KOTopbix paper provides a brief outline of studies underway as well HBJiaeTca HX cTpaTHrpa<))nHecKa« aoKyMeHTHpoBaHHoert. as a selection of new records from the area. Crinoids are 104 John W. M. JAGT note is the absence of isocrinids in the Geulhem Member (Early Palaeocene). Comatulids are represented by atelecrinids, pteroco- mids, conometrids, notocrinids and antedomds. and occur throughout the entire Late Cretaceous section. However, in the Campanian and Early Maastrichtian they are com• paratively rare. Their acme is in the Nekum and Meerssen members, where Jaekelometra gr. belgica (JAEKEL, 1902), ./. gr. cancan, (SCHLÜTER, 1878), Semiomclra lenticularis (SCHLÜTER, 1878) and 5. saskiac JAGT, 1999b are very common locally (CBR-Romontbos. ENCI-Maastricht BV and Blom quarries). In addition to centrodorsals representing various ontogenetic stages, such occurrences have also yielded (proximal) brachials, cirrals and pinnules. Brachials with syzygial articulations are fairly common, suggesting these crinoids to have been able to shed arms easily, which in turn would indicate Fig. I Southern Limburg (The Netherlands) and conti• stressful conditions (?increased predation pressure; com• guous areas, showing location of outcrops and quar• pare MISSING. 1997) in shallow-water, subtropical set• ries referred to in the text: tings. At times, species distinction is difficult, particularly 1 - temporary Albertkanaal sections; of Jaekelometra, Amphorometra and Hertha. In Ibis re• 2 - CBR-Romontbos quarry; spect, they resemble extant forms (MESSING, 1997). 3 - CBR-Lixhe quarry; In comparison with the underlying Meerssen Member, 4 - CPL SA quarry; comatulid diversity decreases noticeably in the Geulhem 5 - Ankerpoort-Curfs quarry; Member, with only two forms represented, Hertha gr. 6 - Blom quarry; 7 - Ankerpoort-'t Rooth quarry; mvstica VON HAGENOW, 1840 (?) and Atuatucamctra an- 8 - ENCI-Maastricht BV quarry; nae JAGT, 1999b. 9 - Kunrade; Bourgueticrinids range through the entire section, 10 - Benzenrade; being commonest in the Late Campanian, early Late 11 - Vijlcn. Maastrichtian and Early Palaeocene. Of special note is The inset map of The Netherlands and Belgium the crinoid/ophiuroid lagerstätte at the base of the Grons- shows the area of the main map (shaded). veld Member (ENCI-Maastricht BV quarry; see JAGI et al., 1998). Newly collected slabs which preserve up to ten crinoids, as well as ophiuroids and rare asteroids, demon• strate the impact of storm activity on these crinoid "mea• not illustrated here, and only few figures of ophiuroids are dows". Not only do these allow the density and spatial included, since the chapters describing these echinoderms distribution of "populations" (see BAUMILLER & ROME, have either just come out or are about to be published 1998) to be determined, but also the nature of the sub• (JAGT, 1999b and KUTSCHER & JAGT, 1999, respectively). strate to be analysed in detail. Quite a few crowns have Holothurians are not considered any further; with the penetrated the substrate to depths of almost 10 cm, with exception of dissociated elements of the peristomial ring, arms outspread. ossicles of these echinoderms are extremely rare in the Bourgueticrinids disappear from the section above the area (compare ZELEZNIK, 1985). base of the Emael Member, only to reappear in the Geulhem Member (Albertkanaal sections and Anker• poort-Curfs quarry), with species that are well known Crinoids from Danian strata in Denmark and southern Sweden, namely Bourgueticrinus danicus BRÜNNICH NIELSEN, Known to date from the area are 36 species, in 20 genera, 1913 and Democrinus? maximus BRUNNICH NIELSEN, with all articulate (sub)orders represented. Of these, 3 1915. HÄKANSSON et al. (1996) have recently suggested genera and 6 species are new (JAGT, 1999b). that an important evolutionary phase in the Bourgueticri- Isocrinids (genera Austinocrinus, hocrinusl, Isselicri- nina took place during the earliest Palaeocene, and that nus, Praeisselicrinus! and Nielsenicrinus) are particu• numerous new dorsal cup morphologies arose through larly well represented in the Late Cainpanian (CPL SA neoteny/paedomorphosis. and CBR-Lixhe quarries) and Early Maastrichtian (Vij- Of the infraorder Holopodinidia only a single repre• len/Aaehen area), but do extend into the latest Maastrich• sentative is known, Cvathidium vlieksi JAGT, 1986, which tian. At least one species (possibly two) occur in the is now known from the base of the Vijlcn Member, the shallow-water settings represented by the Nekum and Meerssen Member and the Kunrade limestone facies Meerssen members (Maastricht Formation; Fig. 2), where (Kunrade area). There are no Danian records of this genus they are associated